***
"Welcome, Your Grace. I have been waiting for you forever."
"Your… Grace? I think you have the wrong person."
"No. You are exactly who fate led here. I am Princess Naida Tideborn, Guardian of the Sea God's Palace. I am here to welcome you as the next Sea God."
***
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
As the foreign memories flooded in, Bella's heart trembled uncontrollably.
Her face turned pale as a sheet, and her eyes widened in shock.
The world slowed within her perception.
Ruina was descending before her, moving at a snail's pace.
Yet Bella noticed none of it.
Nothing else mattered to her anymore.
At that moment, everything finally fell into place, like a puzzle solved after an eternity.
She saw Arlan standing within the Sea God's Palace.
At first, she was confused. She could not understand why he was standing before Naida.
But then the memories continued.
She saw his growth. His struggles. His convictions. His transformation.
She saw how Arlan became Aegis.
